Volusia schools ponder pitch for sales tax extension

The first time Volusia voters were asked to approve a half-penny sales tax to pay for school construction in 2001, enrollment was growing at about 1,000 students a year. Times are different now.

LINDA TRIMBLEEDUCATION WRITER

DELAND — The first time Volusia voters were asked to approve a half-penny sales tax to pay for school construction in 2001, enrollment was growing at about 1,000 students a year. Times are different now. Enrollment is shrinking, but so are other sources of money that can be spent on construction, maintenance, buses and technology due to cuts in state funding and the amount of property tax the School Board can levy for capital projects. That has Volusia County School Board members talking about gearing up to seek an extension of the half-cent sales tax when it expires in December 2016. They'll talk about the issue again when they meet Tuesday. Their conversation has taken on a new urgency in recent weeks as County Councilman Josh Wagner floated the idea of asking voters to approve a 1-cent sales tax next year to generate money for Votran, Sunrail and road projects. While state law doesn't preclude both the County Council and School Board from seeking sales taxes, the political reality of selling back-to-back tax hikes to voters could be tricky. "That's going to make it a tougher climate if we're both going for the same thing," said School Board member Stan Schmidt. "The climate seems to be anti-tax everything." The School Board learned that the hard way in November, when voters rejected a property tax increase that would have generated $26 million annually for four years to pay bills for daily operations. Flagler voters rejected a similar measure earlier this month, although they approved a 10-year extension of a school-related half-percent sales tax last August. A key to selling Volusia voters on the school construction sales tax in 2001 was a detailed list of how the money it generated would be spent on new schools and renovations at existing campuses that benefited just about every area of Volusia County. This time around, the needs are different. "This is going to be computers and technology, buses, air conditioning, new roofs. It's going to be things not as sexy as 'Here's a new school in my neighborhood,' " Schmidt said. A $711.5 million building program wrapped up in October with completion of a $47 million replacement of Ormond Beach Middle School, which was built in 1960. Overall, the building program produced eight new schools, two alternative education centers, replacements of eight older schools, renovations/additions at 12 others and miscellaneous site work, playground equipment and physical education pavilions. The sales tax paid for about half of the 10-year construction program, with the School Board tapping other revenue sources for the rest. The sales tax generated $342.9 million from its Jan. 1, 2002, effective date through last June 30, the end of the latest fiscal year for which complete records are available. That was 17 percent more than original estimates, although collections started declining in 2007 as the economy soured and dipped below original annual estimates for the first time in 2010 before starting to grow slowly again. The district was able to build projects faster than the sales tax money was coming in by selling bonds and certificates of participation – bond-like instruments that don't require voter approval — to jump-start construction spending. It paid $80.7 million in interest through last June 30 on the bonds and certificates. Sales tax revenue generated through 2016 will be used to pay off the rest of those debts. Nearly all the projects on the original list were completed although a few were modified or dropped as population patterns changed and two replacement schools — for George Marks and Pierson elementaries — were put on hold as the district ran out of money. Both replacement schools are likely to move to the top of a list for spending revenue from any sales tax extension but other details are still to be developed. The three longest-serving School Board members say they'd like to see a committee with broad community, parent and district representation take the lead on developing a sales tax extension proposal, repeating the strategy used in 2001. The board also relied on a Project Oversight Committee made up of community representatives to keep an eye on the sales tax building program as it progressed. "I want it to be a true grass-roots issue rather than just the school district. That was the success first time out," said School Board Chairwoman Diane Smith. She also favors talks between school district and county government leaders about the needs of each and how they might fit together when it comes to seeking voter approval of future sales taxes. Wagner, the County Councilman who suggested the transportation sales tax, said he's not sure yet how far that proposal will go. He supports the idea only if it can be combined with a guarantee the sales tax revenue would result in a corresponding future decrease of transportation funding from the county's general fund that could reduce property taxes. Wagner is working with the county legal department on ways that might be accomplished. "The more we get that (property tax) number down, the more appealing we are to business," Wagner said. "They don't look at sales tax as much as they do (property tax). It's a consumption tax; it's different." While Wagner sees cutting property taxes as a way to attract new business, School Board member Candace Lankford said keeping Volusia school facilities and equipment up to date through a possible sales tax extension also is important to the county's economic health. "This is Economic Development 101," she said. "We need to have our students ready for the 21st Century."

Impact fee reinstatement on agenda An agreement to reinstate a Volusia County school impact fee in January — at half the rate that used to apply — will be considered when the School Board meets Tuesday. The agreement emerged from a committee that included representatives of the school district and the Volusia Building Industry Association. It was appointed as part of a settlement of a lawsuit the homebuilders' group filed in 2008 challenging the $6,066 per unit school impact fee in force at the time. The School Board approved a two-year moratorium on collection of the impact fees starting in January 2012. The board will be asked Tuesday to approve advertising of policy changes that would reset the impact fee to $3,000 per housing unit Jan. 1. The board will meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the School Administrative Complex, 200 N. Clara Ave. A public hearing will be required before final board action on the agreement, which also calls for the impact fee to drop to $2,500 per unit as of Jan. 1, 2017. Any future adjustments would be subject to a review by a joint school district/homebuilders committee.

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